You and Me
by ToTheNakedBrownEye
Summary: Meet Joel, a middle aged man hardened by his dreadful past. Meet Ellie, a young immune girl born into the outbreak. Together, they embark on a journey filled with the horror of the Infected, the brutality of the bandits, and the quiet moments when they both show their true colors to each other. This is Joel and Ellie, and this is their story.
1. Bad Dreams

**You and Me**

**Welcome to this one-shot galore! This will be filled with one-shots and little stories revolving around our two favorite people, Joel and Ellie. Enjoy!**

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"Ellie! No!" Joel's screams were barely audible over the heavy downpour of the rain and the loud gunshots of the cannibal bandits. Joel managed to shoot the remaining bandit and rushed to his baby girl who was lying motionlessly on the ground. Her left hand was on her stomach and her right arm was flailing around, as if searching for Joel . Joel took her in his arms and began to add pressure on the wound, praying to himself that she would be okay and that she wouldn't leave him. That this was fixable and that he'd hear her laugh and tell him bad jokes.

"Ellie, baby, don't leave me. Don't do this. Please." Joel said, as his hands nervously tried to block the blood that was creating a large puddle on the side. He looked at her long and hard. Her hair was messy and tangled up. Her face was utterly pale and tired. Her mouth was gasping for air, begging for oxygen to reach her lungs. She whimpered at his touch. "Jo-Joel?" she managed to say, as if talking made the pain even worse.

"I'm here baby girl. I'm here, I ain't leaving you." He quickly said, too frantic and scared over the situation. Her hand went to his face and caressed him gently. His beard prickled her skin, but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel a thing anymore. Life was draining away from her body. Her blood stained her clothes. Breathing became painful. Ellie's once happy eyes vanished, leaving a spiritless look in its place.

"Ellie? Ellie, say something! Anything! Don't stay quiet! Please don't fucking leave me!" Joel screamed. His tears were falling freely. His throat became dry. "Thank you Joel. F-For everything. I'm.." Ellie coughed hard, blood spewing from her mouth, making Joel cry even harder. "You've been the coolest thing that ever happened to me." Ellie whispered her final words. Her hand dropped from his face. Her eyes were motionless. Her mouth stayed open. Her body still. Joel stayed silent, not accepting or analyzing what has happened. He noticed that her chest stopped heaving, and her mouth not moving.

"Ellie? ELLIE! NO! NO!" Joel screamed at the girl he treasured. His voice soon reduced to whimpers and sobs as he cradled her dead body in his arms, the images of Sarah flashed in his head. Reminding him of her death. He hugged her body hard, his sole reason for surviving has left him. His smile, his laugh, his reason to be was gone forever. The sense of failure and guilt washed over him. Marlene's words were all he could hear now. _"You can't save her. Even if you get her out of here, then what? How long before she's torn to pieces by a pack of clickers? That is if she hasn't been raped and murdered first." _

Joel looked at Ellie one last time, stood up, and shot himself.

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"NO! ELLIE!" Joel shouted as he woke from his nightmare. He was covered in sweat and tears. His eyes searched for Ellie who was by his side, trying to calm him down.

"Christ, Joel. I'm here." Ellie sat on his cot and rubbed his back, mimicking what he does when she used to have a bad dream. She grabbed a piece of cloth and started to wipe away the sweat. Joel was breathing hard. His frantic eyes met Ellie's peaceful ones and he grabbed her and hugged her hard, releasing whatever tears he has left. Ellie, in shock, stayed frozen for a second, but recovered and hugged him back and whispered to him that she's here. Joel just wanted to feel her heart beating again. To hear her voice again. To tell him that they're okay.

"Joel, it's okay. We're okay. We're in Tommy's settlement. We're safe. She released herself from his death grip and looked into his startled eyes. Fuck, she has never seen him like this. Sure, she saw him have plenty of nightmares that can really fuck someone up, but man, this one's a first. She wiped a tear that was threatening to fall from his eye and half-smiled. "Wanna talk about it?" She asked, rubbing his arm.

Joel grunted in response, and recovered from his state of shock and fear. Jesus Christ, that dream felt so real. He looked at his surroundings, taking in the warmth of the cabin that Tommy made for them. He's been really happy since his older brother came back. Throwing parties and gatherings. Ellie enjoyed them a whole lot more than he did though, but as long as that kid was happy so was he.

"Just.. Just a bad dream." Joel said, rubbing his eyes with his large hands. Ellie rolled her eyes. "No shit, Joel. C'mon tell me. I bet you'll feel a lot better if you let it out." Her voice was encouraging. It was the best sound ever. Joel gave in, spilling to her what happened in the dream. How her death resembled the death of his late daughter Sarah. How he ended up killing himself. After the incident with the Fireflies, Ellie confronted Joel about it, and he told her what really happened, to say that she was angry was a fucking understatement, but she soon forgave him and moved on. He promised that he wouldn't lie to her anymore. Ellie wasn't shocked to hear about the dream, as he had this dream more than once, but she couldn't help but feel sad whenever he has a bad dream, especially if it reminded him of his daughter. "Joel, you're never gonna lose me. You're gonna need more than a bullet to get me out." Ellie joked, trying to lighten the mood. Joel tried to smile, he really did, but he was too tired, too wearied out. The dream really fucked him up, and Ellie noticed that.

"How about you go back to sleep? I'll do what you do to me when I have a bad dream. Just lay down, take a deep breath and close your eyes." He did as he was told, too tired to object, and closed his eyes. Ellie curled up next to him, so she's facing him, and begins to brush his growing hair from his forehead.

"You need a haircut… And a good shave." Ellie whispered, with a cheeky smile playing on her face. Joel's eyes were closed but he could feel her smile. He grinned at her, at her jokes, at her warmth, and finally slept a peaceful slumber.

"_You're never gonna lose me."_

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**A/N: Well, there you have it. My first TLOU one-shot. I hope I portrayed the characters correctly, if I didn't please hit me up with some tips and advice. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Now I have one question. Would you folks like it if I started a story about another female survivor (around her early 40s) who meets the duo in the settlement and like grows attached to Ellie in a motherly way, and possible attached to Joel **_**romantically**_**? We all saw Joel as a father towards Sarah and Ellie, but how about him **_**loving**_** again? Would be pretty fucking cool if ya ask me. So please, don't forget to review! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Conversations

"Joel you got some sardine on your beard."

"Joel did you know that nothing rhymes with orange? I just freakin' realized that!"

"Okay here's a joke: Why did Captain Kirk's wife have a turd on her head? Because _William Shatner_! … I don't get it. I need a new joke book."

"Joel, do you fucking realize how _awesome_ this comic book is? I want super powers, man."

"You need to shave your beard; it has more food than these cans. Wait, can I grow beard?"

"I'm still wondering why Bill had that magazine with naked dudes on it."

"Okay okay, last joke: What did the fish say when he swam into the wall? Dam. This is priceless serio- Joel are you even listening?"

"MOTHER FUCKING BANDIT! TO YOUR LEFT JOEL!"

"Actually no, don't shave your beard. You'd probably look like a naked bear."

It was times like these where Joel wished he had 2 pills of Tylenol. It was evening, and they were in the middle of a living room in a deserted house setting a little fire to keep them warm from the cool summer wind that breezed in through the cracked windows. They both agreed to spend the night here, as they were too tired from their long walk and endless encounters with the bandits.

"I found some pillows and blankets upstairs. The smell like shit but they'll do." Ellie dropped them on the floor and plopped down on them, sighing.

"You okay kiddo?" Joel asked, half-smiling. He was cooking some canned vegetables and sardines. Ellie took a whiff of the food Joel attempted to cook and gave a disgusted face.

"Sardines? Again? Why can't people leave the good stuff? Like chocolate. Or bacon." Ellie crossed her arms, pouting her lips in an angry manner. "Selfish assholes."

Joel chuckled. "C'mon, it ain't all that bad. Hey, we could be eatin' rat instead." He dipped the funky food in some cans and handed it to Ellie. "Go on, eat up. We gotta move double time tomorrow."

Ellie didn't object. She ate her food slowly, trying her best not to make the fish swim back up. "Did they have bacon trucks back in your time? I mean. if you guys had trucks that sold ice cream then I'm sure you would have bacon too."

Joel raised his eyebrows. "A bacon truck? I don't believe so. But that's a pretty damn good idea. Wish we had that back then." He said, stirring his meal. It was not appetizing. Not one bit. "Where did you even taste bacon? Those things are hard to find." Joel pondered, an eye brow raised.

"I stole it from a dead bandit."

"Oh."

The two survivors sat in peace, warming themselves with the fire Joel put up. Joel was about to get some shut eye when Ellie curled next to him.

"You, uh, okay Ellie?" Joel asked, concerned. He sat up and rubbed Ellie's back, worried if the fish did not sit well with her.

"I'm fine it's just-" Ellie crossed her legs, facing him. "You know how we were in that house this morning? I spent the whole time upstairs and you called for me but I didn't come?" Joel nodded, remembering the time where he found a stash of comics and called Ellie to see them. "I was watching a video. Through a camera, what's it called? Oh ya, a super 8. And there was this woman getting ready, she was crying and looked scared, so I thought she was gonna get her throat ripped out by some Runner but get this: she was _laughing_ and everyone was hugging her. The next scene was her in a white dress and I knew it was a wedding."

Ellie chucked sadly to herself. "I've never been to a wedding before. So then, she entered this church and everyone was standing up throwing flowers and the dude she was marrying was smiling and tearing up a bit. They said their 'I do's' and kissed and then this big party happened and there was lots of food and dancing and nobody killed anyone, no Infected, no cannibals trying to eat one another, no orphans.." Ellie voice faltered. "No immune kid feeling like she has the weight of humanity on her shoulders."

Joel hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry baby girl. I know it's a lot for you to handle and it'll all be over soon. We'll go to the Fireflies, be done with them and head back together to wherever. I ain't gonna leave you. We'll go through this _together_, okay?" Joel spoke to her gingerly. Ellie nodded and laid her head on his shoulder.

After a brief silence, "Do you think I'll you know, have my own wedding one day?" A little smile on her face appeared. As tough as Ellie is, Joel always loved it when she let her guard down. Ellie was still a child, a pure and innocent child who was forced to grow up in this sad excuse of a world.

"Who knows baby girl. You might find someone along the way. But you do know I'll have to approve first, right? Joel said teasing her.

Ellie rolled her eyes and laughed. "Goodnight oldie locks."

"Good night Cinderella."

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

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**A/N: Okay don't worry, there will be no OC's in this story. This a pure one-shot and no, this is not a JoelxEllie fic. Hope you liked it! R&R.**


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